The Perils of Being Merrill
by SerenityFalconNormandy
Summary: Freeform prompt: "I'm not going anywhere." Marian visits Merrill in the Alienage to talk to her about moving to a nicer part of Kirkwall at Varric's insistence.


"Tumbles, please, you gotta talk to Daisy. She made enough from the expedition to get outta that shack in the alienage and into a place that's safer."

Marian raised a dark brow, "Using that nickname isn't exactly going to get you anywhere with me, Varric."

"Haaaaaaawke." Varric tried to do Big Sad Eyes, but mostly looked like he had seen something he couldn't unsee. "This is for Daisy's sake. You love Daisy."

"That I do. I also acknowledge she's a grown-ass woman who can make her own decisions." She stared at the mug of ale in her hand as Varric sat back in surprise. How many had she drunk now? "That came out much meaner than it sounded in my head."

"Look, at least talk to her about it?"

"All my drinks for the next month are on you?"

"If that's what it takes, yes."

"Deal."

"You drive a hard bargain, Marian Hawke."

She chuckled as she stood up, and pressed a kiss to the top of the grumbling dwarf's head. "I love you too, Varric."

Marian swung her halberd into its sling, and started towards the alienage. She only slipped once on the stairs into the cramped corner of Kirkwall, and managed to catch herself instead of taking a header, which made her proud. Cats-eyes flashed from behind curtains hastily pulled back to see who the human invader was. The elves recognized Marian now, and knew she was one of the few humans in Kirkwall who treated them with respect and courtesy, so the curtains were readily dropped.

She thunked her fist on Merrill's door, heavy hardwood Varric had paid to have brought in from the Planasene Forest, reinforced with a heavy steel lock.

"Just a moment!" Merrill's bright chirp still managed to carry through, and the door swung open. "Hawke! I wasn't expecting you! Come in!"

"Varric asked me to stop by and make sure everything's still going well." Marian stepped in, toeing off her boots to avoid tracking dust and mud on the floor. She was pretty sure Merrill got on her hands and knees and scrubbed the slate tiles with a bristle brush at least twice a week. The halberd was leaned next to Merrill's 'walking stick' in the entryway.

"I'm so sorry it's such a mess, I swear it's clean sometimes! But yes, I am well, and I have no intention of leaving my home."

Marian smiled at Merrill's firm tone, "You call this a mess? I'm pretty sure I could eat off your floors, Merrill. If I tried that anywhere else in Kirkwall, I'd be dead of the wasting in less than a week."

Merrill flushed red under the charcoal lines of her vallaslin, gesturing at her table, buried in books and stacks of parchment. "But the books and papers…"

"You're studious, I'll give you that." The elf beamed. "Are you sure you won't at least consider moving to one of the nicer parts of Lowtown? You'd be safer there, and closer to the markets where you're less likely to get lost."

"Oh, Hawke…" Merrill sat down heavily at the table. "I know you and Varric mean well. I do. But I can't abandon the other elves here. For most of them the venadhal is the only connection they have to our heritage. I trained for most of my life to be a Keeper. Sabrae won't have me… but I can do some good here. Share our heritage and give them a connection to the past while we look to our future. The hahren approves, too. I'm not going anywhere."

"Very well." Marian plopped down across from her, legs splayed and hands folded on her stomach.

Merrill blinked owlishly. "You're-not going to argue?"

"Nope! I told Varric you're a grown woman who can make her own decisions, and I said I would talk to you about it. I never said I would argue with you about it. I got a whole month of drinks on him at the Hanged Man out of it, too."

Clapping her hands over her mouth to smother her laughter, Merrill kicked back in the chair. Her shoulders were shaking from the force of the giggles erupting from her. Wrapped feet swung back and forth as they bubbled through her whole body.

"That funny, eh?"

"You're brilliant!"

"I have my moments. But I do have an idea that might get Varric to calm down."

"Oh?" Her ears perked, and Merrill sat forward, resting her elbows on a thick tome while weaving her fingers together and settling her chin on them. "What's your idea?"

"You're a shockingly wealthy elf after the expedition, and I know you've let Varric handle all of your investments."

"Yes? That's why he wants me to move."

"Why not put that money into improving the alienage? You know, importing lumber to help rebuild and reinforce the buildings, or replace them with brick and such? I'll match whatever you put in with the money I've kept aside as my own after getting the estate for Leandra and setting her up. Clean it from top to bottom and re-paint, maybe get heating and cooling runes from the Gallows for summer and winter? I remember you saying that last year several of the older elves passed because of the heat during the summer."

Merrill's eyes widened with each suggestion. "You would really put money towards that, Hawke? Towards helping us?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I? I can't fix all of what's wrong with Kirkwall, but I'll fix what I can."

"You're a wonderful friend, Hawke. I don't know what I'd do without you." Merrill reached over the stack of parchment between them to rest her fingers on Marian's shoulder.

"Well, you probably wouldn't have giant spider guts in your hair on a weekly basis, I bet."

"I wouldn't be so sure. You don't know what trouble we Dalish can get into when we put our minds to it."


End file.
